Chapter 03.2-03.3: The Drive

Chapter 3.2: Drive To M.H.P.D

Max was not the most prudent person in the world because his first thought was to pick up something to eat at BurgerJail before going to the M.H.P.D. He was waiting in line at a drive-through when he heard a series of timid knocks. Bored, he opened the hatch. Susa put her face through the hatch hole to whisper-yell at him, "Max?! Maxie! Listen, I am sorry!"

"Oh?" Max blinked at the sound of his lame nickname with heavy eyelids. Strangely, only with a look of pure horror on her face did he notice Susa's amazing cheekbones, "Listen, please! You are helping me a ton, and I have yet to thank you properly. Thanks, but for the love of gods, please let me in the passenger--"

"Hey, this is not exactly a good time for this...." Max reached out the window to receive his food, a Nutra-Burger with fries and homebrewed cola wine, before he drove off towards the M.H.P.D. It sounds like she was trying to gain pity, so it was in one ear and out the other for him. He gave her all his fries, which she snatched up without a facial tick. She kept continuing, grimacing but nothing more at his interruption, "Can I please sit in the passenger seat, Officer Stone?"

"Why?"

"Because! I don't want to be here when James--"

"Move!" A deep voice was heard as Max resisted the temptation to turn on the sirens. Susa skittered away at the sound of James' voice. It was his face that came to replace it. Tar was still on his skin as his red lips were curled in a smile, "Hey, 'Maxie', let's talk?" His smile twisted so hard that it showed off all of his teeth. Demonkin had the mouth structure of a carnivorous animal, unlike the omnivorous ones humans had, meaning there was just a mouthful of jagged pointed fangs.

"Sure thing." Max's response was curt, trying to keep James busy as they drove. Something about what he said made Jamie erupt in a series of fake laughter, turning his attention to Susa to repeat what he said as if it was some joke, "Nice. 'Sure thing'. Do you hear this guy? You want to know how I met this guy, uh... Hold on; I know your name.... Susa B. Anthony, right?"

The only response she gave was silence. Max attention was less on the conversation and more on the road. Stone could make out their expressions and actions through the car's rearview mirror. The station was a straight shot but was more than seven miles ahead of them. James circled his wrist at Susa until she finally nodded in response to his question, "So, Susa, I met Max a few months ago at a rally. That guy was taking on a Drider, alone and without any equipment. He stood toe to toe with a Drow and won. Now that's something, isn't it? He is the only man I have seen in six years who stands toe to toe with those spider-backed fuckers."

Max was silent as that was another event that went into the vault for him. He was not even on the clock when he first met James. The Drider had mistaken him for someone who owed her money, and everything else escalated. James continued, "How did you meet him, Susa? Anything violent?"

"He murdered my husband...." Susa's tone was mystified by James, as if he was talking about some fanciful story instead of just recounting events. 

James made an exaggerated disgusted expression, "Lovely. Trust me; I will ask you more about the slaughter of Logan and give my condolences later. Max over here managed to get a few bitch shots in on me, so I am going to be out of commission for tomorrow." Max let out a little chuckle feeling the tinge of pain in his arm from twenty-plus cheap shots. James jovially laughed along with him a solid half-minute afterwards before suddenly stopping, "Cute. Stop the car. Now."

Of course, Max did no such thing. There was an awkward moment of silence as Max stewed in it. James met his expectations with a kick to the metal divider that separates them that wasn't strong enough to leave more than a small dent in the metal but was strong enough to jolt the car to the left. Max's vice-like grip on the wheel was the only thing that kept them from swerving into a ditch or oncoming traffic, "Stop. The. Fucking. Car. Now. Maxwell!"

Another rage fuel kick to the divider followed every word of his. The last two kicks caused his already worn arms to buckle, making the car swerve hard into the railing of a bridge they were crossing. The other buckle almost made them collide with a sixteen-wheeler. The blaring horn of the semi-truck, not even fazing James, who was reeling his knees back for another kick, but causing Susa to grip the sides of her head and hiss and click her tongue with twice the fervour than last time, which stunned them both. Max pulled over as soon as he could. Susa, still screaming, and James giving the stopped car one more kick for the hell of it, broke Max, "Both of you, quit it or else I will use your brains to paint my back window!"

"Overreaction much, Maxie?" Susa abruptly stopped and chided him.

"Yeah, dude, maybe you need to work on those anger issues?" James remarked with a sarcastic concern.

Max glaze was fixated on his service pistol during the two snide remarks. James' words broke the constant reenactment of homicide playing in his head, "Well, 'Maxie', this has been grand. I'll see you in two days; trust me, I'll tell Regret that you are doing well. She has been trying to reach you lately. Now get out and open the door for me." A more fitting name could have never been given to the Demonkin-like woman with who he had a fling during his secret life. Cursing under his breath, he ignored James' stupid command, "Just see yourself out."

James wore an expression of false surprise on his face, "Rude. You are lucky I don't make your bitch-ass drive me back to Blackwood Manor. Window or door?" Max did not even know why James bothered asking him, yet he still gestured towards the window. For a second, he genuinely believed that James would listen to him before he saw the Demonkin get on his back again. He looked away before hearing the screech of metal and the harsh rocking of the entire car. Stone found himself briefly dejected at the sight of his door on the highway.

James and Susa casually strolled out of the car. The radio static came in; cueing Mariyah was trying to reach him. Max was moments away from answering the call before he heard a knocking on the passenger side window. It was Susanna. Opening the door, he offered Susa the food he had never started eating, to which she chowed down on it after seating her bare ass on the leather seat. Max answered the call as Stone and Mariyah were taken aback by the wet sound of eating. Both remained silent until Susa finished eating with a groan and rumbling burp.

"Uh... Alright! M-3000, I have some good news, but first, how close are you to transporting James to M.H.P.D?"

"He escaped. His kicks were not enough to break the divider but were enough to fuck with my suspension hard. If we can reinforce that in basic squad cars or get James in one of our trucks, he shouldn't escape again. James could also kick down the door even with the flameless cuffs on." There was a beat or two of silence followed by feverish pencil writing. Susa drifted asleep, but Max kept her awake with a backhand slap across her exposed belly. Her angry reaction managed to crack a slight smile on Stone's lips. Mariyah's giddy tone put his mind at ease, "That is great information! That gives me a good excuse to explain why your car isn't in, but this data is priceless. Cornwell is going to appreciate it! The good news is that you must have impressed the right people because, since your run-in with James, the good reports have been pouring in. Nice, did you ever find a place to get rid of Susa?"

"No. Speaking of which, here you go." Max showed Susa where to put her fingers to speak before driving off, heading home as it was an hour past midnight, "Yo, M-Dog! I need a place to stay. You got my back?" This time the silence that followed was uncomfortable.

"Yes, but do you have a place that you can stay for... like two days first? My house is a mess, you have a problem with Chocolate, and I am at the last stages of training my Dragon Wasp. The last thing I need is for you to get stung and pass out in a pile of my filthy clothes. You will die because I won't find you. Max should have a guest room from what I remembered."

Max mentally disconnected the moment that he passed the radio over to her. At this point, he was operating on a mouthful of gas and pure fumes. When Susa looked over at him with a pout and puppy dog eyes, he immediately thought she wanted to help out in his marriage, to which he nodded back. He was thoroughly confused by the two girls' squeals but with several other things on his mind that were more important.

Chapter 3.3: Corner of Ballard and Chambers

Susa's squeals stopped when a '+' squad car nearly rammed the front of his vehicle! Max stopped just in time for the auto to follow suit ahead of him. The notable difference between his automobile and one belonging to Max was a trade-off on speed vs toughness. Max's was made of heavier metal, had a grill on the front of it, sirens on top of his car and a camera/microphone system. Whoever was in front of them had 'C-67+' on the side of it. It lacked all of his car features since they were often called last minute into the scene. In exchange, the car's design was sleeker and had a more potent engine. Technomancers constantly tinkered to improve the '+' and '-" Officers' cars. There was no telling what little traps and tricks it could deploy. Once, Maxwell saw a '+' car drop a spike strip like it was nothing. Just as C-67+ came to a stop, so too did Mariyah's girlish squeals over the radio.

It took Susa getting out of the car and approaching the amazonian woman with a hug for Max to recognize this person as Mariyah through his heavy eyelids. The combat boots, heavily padded outfit and helmet/visor combination emphasized her fit physique. She had the feet and legs of a kickboxer, which was all the more evident with this new attire. Mariyah's boots had a black base and were typical only in style. The soles were silver-coloured; separating them from the rest of the boot was the same blue light on the Battle Gauntlet that sat on his dash. Along the back length of her shoes, which went up most of her calves, were stylish yet cute exhaust pipes. M-Dog pants were skin fitted except for in the groin. Maxwell chalked it up to the tiredness, but it looked like she was packing enough meat to kickstart her own butchery. A brownish, furred monkey tail was curled twice around her hips like a weird belt. The padding on Mariyah's uniform was significantly heavier around her shoulders, neck, and chest. Yet, it did not impede her movement while she separated herself from Susa. Mariyah approached the driver's side of his car and knocked on the window.

The patrol car, C-67+, moved out of his way, the driver conversing with Susa. Dear leaned down to prop on his door, her red doe-like eyes visible from beneath the vizor, "Maxie! Still up for busting Titus?" Max paused as he had completely forgotten about their previous plans.

Max yawned before responding, "My bad, I am exhausted, and I forgot all about it."

Mariyah's smile never faltered while digging for something in her back pocket with her free hand, "Luckily, I figured that you would be the case. I plan on doing the heavy lifting on this raid, and I have something that will keep you up for a few hours." She leaned off from the door to pull out a tall vial that he instantly recognized despite the darkness; Tainted Chocolate! Since it was within his grasp, Maxwell tried to grab it to have his hand slapped hard enough to get Susa's attention briefly. Mariyah's visor went up to show her red gaze. Her eyes were narrowed in such a manner that he had never seen before and hoped to ever again. A disturbing calmness in her words contrasted with her eyes when she spoke, "What did you eat today, Maxwell?"

"All I had was a salad...." Her gaze immediately softened when she heard this. Frowning, she gave him the warm-to-the-touch vial, "Hold this."

While she was looking through her pockets, Max ran his fingers over the glass. Knowing what it was made of, the heat and thickness of the liquid made sense. There was still the question of who was making it, but Max felt it would not need many guesses. He was lost in thought when she offered him a bag of cashews, "Huh?"

Mariyah's bright smile returned, but there was a weird cadence in her following words, "Maxie, listen, eat that first and then you can have some chocolate. After we bust Titus, I'll serve you some more, 'kay?" Stone tried to hide it, but the disappointment was clear as day across his face. He only caught it when Dear's sweet, brown lips were twisted into a scowl as she threw a few glances at the C-67+ driver. He was disgusted at the pity in her voice, "Come on, Stone, don't you feel guilty about wanting this while Sammy stays up alone and waiting for you?"

"Yes, I--" Her words were such a gut punch that he almost handed her the Chocolate on the spot. Dear's laughter interrupted him as she smacked her lips, "Tch! You are lucky, I don't care, but since you admitted it, I'll let you have a small taste...." All his thought processes halted, with the overpowering scent of chocolatey oil wafting from her open mouth. Stone involuntary shivered at the sight of her rolling out her tongue with thick, dark saliva running down its length. Maxwell was hesitant at first, shakily leaning forward until she started to waggle her tongue. His entire mood shifted at a simple act threatening to waste her precious Chocolate.

Maxie refused to let a drop go anywhere but his mouth. Scooping up the trail of coco drool from mid-air, the sight of this made Mariyah shamelessly moan. This was stifled, though intensified when their lips connected with Stone greedily and sloppily drunk from her oral facet. Mari's red eyes clouded for a few seconds as the intensity of the kiss only got rougher. Something about the steely grip of Maxwell's hand in her short braids snapped her out of it. She had no issue breaking the kiss with a wet pop as they perfectly mirrored each other's expressions. They wiped their lips while panting in sync with one difference. Max mentally freaking out because he was still unclear about the qualities of her bodily fluids. Mariyah mutters in a daze, the stench of oily Chocolate getting thicker by the minute, "Wow...."

When he was about to open his mouth to ask questions, Mariyah knocked on the driver's side door and whistled, "Open up the passenger side door and make some room for me."

The whistle made the "+" driver start the engine again, then drove off, to Susa's surprise. Mariya was just about to open the door to the passenger side when she was confronted by Susanne, "What the hell, Dawg!? Do you know how close I was to getting some cocoa?"

"Knowing my partner, you were just about to hop in the car, huh?" Susa made a slight hiss before continuing her protest, "Rude! Well, you have to accept responsibility then. You know better than anybody what happens when I don't get my Chocolate."

"Oh, come on, Sue, you are telling me with a straight face that you haven't had any today? Now get in the backseat and buckle up." They would be at it for a little while, so Max used this time to munch some cashews. They were dusted lightly with sugar and drizzled with real chocolate. He was unsure if this was part of the 'diet' that she mentioned or that she remembered that this was his favourite type of nut, but Officer Stone was in a great mood. Stone thoroughly checked out from whatever the two were bickering about and tipped the bag into his mouth when Mariyah stepped inside. She held up a finger for him before scooting her seat back until it pressed into the divider, "Sue! Come on, we don't have all night."

Susa shot Mariyah a look before sitting down on her lap. Her expression changed, her grey cheeks becoming a muddy shade of red, "Oh? I'm digging how tight your pants are! I could see myself getting used to this seat."

"Yeah yeah. I'll fill you to the brim with Chocolate later. Get down. Max? Are you there?" Max shook himself awake as he did not understand what she wanted until he saw her put in 430 Wendig Court in his GPS. Stone's confusion continued when Mariyah folded Susa like a bad hand in poker. Susanna's back went past 90 degrees to where it hurt his eyes to look at her. Fortunately, he was more focused on driving than whatever those two were doing. While he drove, he kept seeing Mariyah do strange movements, finally saying something when they were a turn away from the hideout, "What are you two doing?"

There was no response except Susa, who was so muffled that she might have spoken in another language. 430 Wendig Courts, to his dismay, was a human-run apartment complex. It was a three-story apartment with only three rooms per level. Max parked in the back of the needlessly large parking lot next to C-67+. He shut off the lights and was about to shut off his engine but stopped when he finally had a good look at Mariyah.

A cord ran from her port to his car radio. Mariyah's eyes flickered while her hands pressed invisible buttons on Susa's back. She was not here in the slightest with how her eyes scanned hidden objects. All the while, Susanna giggled like her back was not broken in several places. Mariyah's lips curled in a toothy grin before confidently pressing a final, unseen button. Crackling and sparks followed Mariyah removing the cord from her temple, "Alright! Everything is set. I made it so that your car was registered back at the Lock-Up and that you are a reference in this arrest. Unless Cornwell pulls something out of his ass, any arrest my partner and I make will go to your record! Uh. Maxie? What's up?"

Maxwell only heard bits and pieces of what she said. His vision now started to flicker while his entire body felt numb. A loud pop when he uncorked the vial of Tainted Chocolate and chugged it like it was an energy drink. Sitting back with a moan escaping him as he felt his tiredness melt away. He could not help the smile on his lips at the heated Chocolate coating his lips, nor how instantly he went to try to lick up the little bit left on the lid of the vial. Beating his chest with his fist, Max let out a satisfied burp as he felt like he could do this raid and tango with his heifer of a wife afterwards. Stone was going to thank Mariyah when he finally looked back at her. Mariyah was chewing on her pointer finger with half-lidded eyes and a single line of dark tingle drool running down her chin. Susa, who now was sitting up to watch this, biting the corner of her lip while suggestively shifting herself on Mariyah's lap, her whisper loud in the sensually tensed air, "God, I hate that I did not record that."

Mariyah gave her a playful slap across the back of her shaved head. The sound and Susa's expression got a hearty laugh out of them all. It did not last long with Max's next question, "So how are we going to find Titus in this apartment complex? We can't just go around knocking on every door."

Susa suddenly stiffened when Mariyah gave a rough squeeze on her shoulder, "Our little chocolate addict here is going to lead us right to him."